Free Republic

The Vatican’s Gamble With Beijing Is Costing China’s CatholicsNo pope has ever set foot in China, but 10 years ago, Francis came the closest. On a flight to South Korea in August 2014, he became the first Vicar of Christ to enter Chinese airspace. Apparently that wasn’t enough. “Do I want to go to China?” Francis mused a few days later to those of us journalists accompanying him on his flight back to Rome. “Of course: Tomorrow!”Francis has been more conciliatory to the People’s Republic than any of his predecessors. His approach has brought some stability to the Church in...

A report reveals that key radical left-wing organizations central in the current anti-Israel and anti-America protest movement are significantly funded and influenced by a network tied to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which seeks to advance a “revolutionary, anti-government, anti-capitalist agenda,” threatening U.S. internal stability. A major report from the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), published Monday, details how the Shut It Down for Palestine (SID4P) movement, which has connections to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) through the Singham Network, uses protests and media campaigns to push anti-America and anti-Israel narratives and significantly contribute to social unrest.

May 9 parades across other regions in Russia have been cancelled this year over 'security concerns'. VLADIMIR Putin paraded nuclear missile launchers, tanks and thousands of war-ready troops this morning ahead of his triumphant Victory Day event. -snip- Ahead of the patriotic event, Russia's fearsome intercontinental nuclear missiles were pulled through the capital's streets in a show of force to the West. Huge columns of troops marched towards the Red Square and even children in oversized battledress joined in the military festivities. The real events will be held on Thursday under intense security, with reports suggesting that Moscow's centrepiece show...

Chinese hackers are preparing to launch a major attack on critical U.S. infrastructure and have already infiltrated multiple companies according to the FBI. FBI Director Chris Wray revealed today China is developing the capability to cause significant damage to our critical infrastructure at a time of their choosing. The only question is the time to launch a catastrophic blow. “China is developing the ability to physically wreak havoc on our critical infrastructure at a time of its choosing,” Wray said at the 2024 Vanderbilt Summit on Modern Conflict and Emerging Threats. “Its plan is to land low blows against civilian...

Last May I wrote about a group of Chinese hackers who'd been identified by Microsoft after malware was discovered in telecom systems on the island of Guam. Microsoft named the hacking group "Volt Typhoon."Microsoft called the hacking group “Volt Typhoon” and said that it was part of a state-sponsored Chinese effort aimed at not only critical infrastructure such as communications, electric and gas utilities, but also maritime operations and transportation. The intrusions appeared, for now, to be an espionage campaign. But the Chinese could use the code, which is designed to pierce firewalls, to enable destructive attacks, if they choose.Today,...

Nicaragua has asked the UN's highest court to halt German weapons sales to Israel at the start of a landmark case. Germany is accused of breaching the UN genocide convention by sending military hardware to Israel and ceasing funding of the UN's aid agency. Berlin rejects the claims and will present a defence to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Tuesday. In 2023 some 30% of Israel's military equipment purchases came from Germany, totalling €300m ($326m; £257m). The allegations build on a separate case taken by South Africa in January, where judges in the Hague ordered Israel to take...

One of Beijing's enduring hobbies is accusing Washington of violating or abusing international law. This selective outrage is justifiably ignored, given China’s unwillingness to abide by international law and disregard for U.N. arbitration concerning demarcation in the South China Sea. “International law with Chinese characteristics” was easily mocked and ignored when American deterrence and international safeguards stymied Beijing’s ambitions. Unfortunately, that security architecture is unraveling. In 2009, China began to make expansive claims vis-à-vis the South China Sea when it unveiled its infamous nine-dash line, which claimed vast swathes of maritime territory. In 2016, the U.N.-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration...

China issued a travel advisory for citizens visiting the United States, asking them to take safety precautions and be prepared for "various unexpected situations", such as being searched. Several Chinese students and company employees have recently been subjected to "unwarranted interrogations and harassment" by US airport law enforcement officers, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on its WeChat account on Friday. Their phones, computers and other luggage items were searched piece by piece, and several people were banned from entering the country, it said. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the...

The Chinese Communist Party has aggressively built up its military, expanding its arsenal of both conventional and nuclear capabilities. The growth was largely funded by its rival, the United States.That is one of the arguments made by James Fanell, a retired U.S. Navy captain, and Bradley Thayer, a senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy, a Washington-based think tank, during a recent interview with EpochTV’s “American Though Leaders“ program.“The Chinese Navy now is over 150 naval combatants greater than the U.S. Navy. They are now the largest navy in terms of numbers of hulls and tonnage,” said Mr. Fanell,...

BEJING -- China will start building this year its own version of StarLink, a satellite internet constellation using low Earth orbit, with plans of launching some 26,000 satellites to cover the entire world led by state-run companies.Now that the military use of satellite-based communications systems for warfare in such places as Ukraine and Gaza is increasing, China will set up its own satellite network to compete with the U.S. as a "space power."

Tibetans in India on Sunday waved the flag of their homeland in protests marking 65 years since a failed uprising was crushed by China, driving the Dalai Lama and thousands of compatriots to flee. Leaders warned of an "existential threat" to the decades-long struggle by Tibetans in exile to win greater autonomy for a homeland many have never seen. On Sunday, hundreds of Tibetans gathered in the northern Indian hill-town of Dharamsala, the adopted home of the Dalai Lama since he fled Tibet days after the March 10, 1959 uprising.

China has responded to the new U.S. House bill passed against TikTok, and it doesn't look like it's going to make the U.S.-Sino relationship any better. While the measure still has to wind its way through the Senate, it would essentially ban the platform for all Americans unless TikTok's operations were divested from Chinese parent firm ByteDance (BDNCE). The formal name of the bill, titled the "Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act," also likely riled Beijing, which was quick to lay out its position and accuse Washington of "resorting to acts of bullying."Quote: "Though the U.S. has never...

How deep are Hollywood’s ties to China? Beijing’s tentacles have ensnared most major studios — and many smaller ones — as well as a raft of A-list names: Steven Spielberg, Michael Bay, Jeffrey Katzenberg, the Russo brothers. Even Tyler Perry isn’t immune to China’s power.In his new book Blood Money: Why the Powerful Turn Many of the most recognizable blockbuster titles in recent years were made with Chinese money — the Transformers, Kung Fu Panda, and even some of the Mission: Impossible movies.Dune and its upcoming sequel were both financed by Legendary Pictures, which is majority owned by China’s Wanda...

China already is waging war with the US, but not with guns — with poison. In his new book, “Blood Money,” Peter Schweizer explains how Communist China mass produces and distributes fentanyl, a chemical 30 to 50 times as powerful as heroin, to poison Americans. As this excerpt shows, the Chinese government actively uses fentanyl as a weapon to destabilize our society. “Blood Money” discusses how China’s production of fentanyl can lead to the downfall of many Americans. While we debate domestic politics to address the fentanyl crisis, the reality is that Beijing is deeply involved at every stage of...

A Chinese couple working at Canada's highest biosecurity lab were secretly sending information to Beijing and mailed live Ebola to China, a bombshell investigation has found. In a 600-page report released this week by the Canadian intelligence service, the pair were also accused of allowing visitors into the lab who tried to leave carrying plastic bags of vials containing an unknown substance. Dr Xiangguo Qiu and Dr Keding Cheng were found to have left visitors with ties to the Chinese government and military unsupervised at the facility.

Chinese and Philippine coast guard vessels yesterday collided in the disputed South China Sea and four Filipino crewmembers were injured in high-seas confrontations. The China Coast Guard ships and accompanying vessels blocked the Philippine Coast Guard and supply vessels off the disputed Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙) and executed dangerous maneuvers that caused two minor collisions between the Chinese ships and two of the Philippine vessels, Philippine officials said. — The supply boat, crewed by Filipino navy personnel, was later hit by water cannon blasts from two Chinese coast guard ships. Its windshield shattered, injuring at least four Filipino...

China will boost its defense spending by 7.2% this year, fueling a military budget that has more than doubled under Xi Jinping’s decade-plus in office as Beijing hardens its stance on Taiwan, according to official reports on Tuesday. The increase mirrors the rate presented in last year’s budget and comes in above the government’s economic growth forecast for this year. China also officially adopted tougher language against Taiwan as it released the budget figures, dropping the mention of “peaceful reunification” in a government work report delivered by Premier Li Qiang at the opening of the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s...

Chinese gangs have set up thousands of illicit weed farms across the US as they begin to challenge Mexican cartels for supremacy as America's cannabis kingpins. Authorities in Oklahoma, Oregon, California, New Mexico and Maine have all been battling a surge in Chinese weed farms, with some thought to be linked to criminal gangs known as 'triads'. The spread is seemingly uncontainable, with police in Penobscot County, Maine, last week arresting three Chinese nationals at a weed farm and seizing 40 pounds of the drug alongside $4,700 in cash. It is thought to be one of around 270 illegal weed...

The mysterious high-altitude balloon spotted soaring the Western US Friday was simply a hobbyist device and has already left American airspace, according to a report. Federal investigators tracked the small balloon, flying at an altitude between 43,000 and 45,000 feet, until it traversed beyond US lines sometime during the night, the North American Aerospace Defense Command told CBS News. Fighter jets for NORAD, the nation’s airspace watchdog, intercepted the balloon shortly as it hovered over Utah Friday. Although officials were unsure of the balloon’s origin, they immediately determined that the balloon, which was not maneuverable, “posed no hazard to flight...